Posted 2 years ago on Dec. 31, 2012, 3:05 p.m. EST by therising
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This post is separated into 3 parts:

SHORT HISTORY FROM 1968 - Hoover memo / King assassination

SHORT HISTORY FROM 2011-2012 - Occupy targeted by FBI, DHS, state and local authorities in coordination with and for large financial institutions

COMPARISON OF 1967 to 2012 - Indefinite detention: Similarities of US 2012 to South Africa 1967

SECTION 1

J. Edgar Hoover once brazenly declared in an FBI memo that "Through counterintelligence, it should be possible to pinpoint potential troublemakers and neutralize them.". He directly discusses the threat he perceives from from Martin Luther King, Jr. Read this short memo. Then think about the timing here.

Mar 4, 1968 = The date on that memo from Hoover.

Apr 4, 1968 = The date of King's assassination

The facts show that James Earl Ray did not kill King:

The two separate ballistic tests conducted on the Remington Gamemaster allegedly used by Ray in the assassination did not match the bullet to the gun.[50][51] Moreover, witnesses surrounding King at the moment of the shooting say the shot was fired from a different location, from behind thick shrubbery near the rooming house, and not from the rooming house window.[52]

According to witness Lloyd Jowers, James Earl Ray was a scapegoat, and not involved in the assassination. Jowers believed that Memphis police officer Lieutenant Earl Clark fired the fatal shot. In 1999, the King family conducted a civil case to consider the existence of an assassination conspiracy.

The verdict was that King had been the victim of assassination by a conspiracy involving the Memphis police as well as federal agencies.

Author Jim Douglass:"What I experienced in that courtroom ranged from inspiration at the courage of the Kings to amazement at the government's carefully interwoven plot to kill Dr. King. The seriousness with which US intelligence agencies planned the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks eloquently of the threat King and nonviolence represented to the powers that be in the spring of 1968.[4]"

Well, that was 1968. Fast forward to 2011 - 2012. . .

SECTION 2

New documents prove what was once dismissed as paranoid fantasy: totally integrated corporate-state repression of dissent

It was more sophisticated than we had imagined: new documents show that the violent crackdown on Occupy last fall – so mystifying at the time – was not just coordinated at the level of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and local police.

The crackdown, which involved, as you may recall, violent arrests, group disruption, canister missiles to the skulls of protesters, people held in handcuffs so tight they were injured, people held in bondage till they were forced to wet or soil themselves –was coordinated with the big banks themselves.

The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, in a groundbreaking scoop that should once more shame major US media outlets (why are nonprofits now some of the only entities in America left breaking major civil liberties news?), filed this request. The document – reproduced here in an easily searchable format – shows a terrifying network of coordinated DHS, FBI, police, regional fusion center, and private-sector activity so completely merged into one another that the monstrous whole is, in fact, one entity: in some cases, bearing a single name, the Domestic Security Alliance Council. And it reveals this merged entity to have one centrally planned, locally executed mission.

The documents, in short, show the cops and DHS working for and with banks to target, arrest, and politically disable peaceful American citizens.

The documents, released after long delay in the week between Christmas and New Year, show a nationwide meta-plot unfolding in city after city in an Orwellian world: six American universities are sites where campus police funneled information about students involved with OWS to the FBI, with the administrations' knowledge (p51); banks sat down with FBI officials to pool information about OWS protesters harvested by private security; plans to crush Occupy events, planned for a month down the road, were made by the FBI – and offered to the representatives of the same organizations that the protests would target; and even threats of the assassination of OWS leaders by sniper fire – by whom? Where? – now remain redacted and undisclosed to those American citizens in danger, contrary to standard FBI practice to inform the person concerned when there is a threat against a political leader (p61).

As Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the PCJF, put it, the documents show that from the start, the FBI – though it acknowledges Occupy movement as being, in fact, a peaceful organization – nonetheless designated OWS repeatedly as a "terrorist threat":

"FBI documents just obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) … reveal that from its inception, the FBI treated the Occupy movement as a potential criminal and terrorist threat … The PCJF has obtained heavily redacted documents showing that FBI offices and agents around the country were in high gear conducting surveillance against the movement even as early as August 2011, a month prior to the establishment of the OWS encampment in Zuccotti Park and other Occupy actions around the country."

Verheyden-Hilliard points out the close partnering of banks, the New York Stock Exchange and at least one local Federal Reserve with the FBI and DHS, and calls it "police-statism":

"This production [of documents], which we believe is just the tip of the iceberg, is a window into the nationwide scope of the FBI's surveillance, monitoring, and reporting on peaceful protestors organizing with the Occupy movement … These documents also show these federal agencies functioning as a de facto intelligence arm of Wall Street and Corporate America."

The documents show stunning range: in Denver, Colorado, that branch of the FBI and a "Bank Fraud Working Group" met in November 2011 – during the Occupy protests – to surveil the group. The Federal Reserve of Richmond, Virginia had its own private security surveilling Occupy Tampa and Tampa Veterans for Peace and passing privately-collected information on activists back to the Richmond FBI, which, in turn, categorized OWS activities under its "domestic terrorism" unit. The Anchorage, Alaska "terrorism task force" was watching Occupy Anchorage. The Jackson, Michigan "joint terrorism task force" was issuing a "counterterrorism preparedness alert" about the ill-organized grandmas and college sophomores in Occupy there. Also in Jackson, Michigan, the FBI and the "Bank Security Group" – multiple private banks – met to discuss the reaction to "National Bad Bank Sit-in Day" (the response was violent, as you may recall). The Virginia FBI sent that state's Occupy members' details to the Virginia terrorism fusion center. The Memphis FBI tracked OWS under its "joint terrorism task force" aegis, too. And so on, for over 100 pages.

Jason Leopold, at Truthout.org, who has sought similar documents for more than a year, reported that the FBI falsely asserted in response to his own FOIA requests that no documents related to its infiltration of Occupy Wall Street existed at all. But the release may be strategic: if you are an Occupy activist and see how your information is being sent to terrorism task forces and fusion centers, not to mention the "longterm plans" of some redacted group to shoot you, this document is quite the deterrent.

There is a new twist: the merger of the private sector, DHS and the FBI means that any of us can become WikiLeaks, a point that Julian Assange was trying to make in explaining the argument behind his recent book. The fusion of the tracking of money and the suppression of dissent means that a huge area of vulnerability in civil society – people's income streams and financial records – is now firmly in the hands of the banks, which are, in turn, now in the business of tracking your dissent.

Remember that only 10% of the money donated to WikiLeaks can be processed – because of financial sector and DHS-sponsored targeting of PayPal data. With this merger, that crushing of one's personal or business financial freedom can happen to any of us. How messy, criminalizing and prosecuting dissent. How simple, by contrast, just to label an entity a "terrorist organization" and choke off, disrupt or indict its sources of financing.

Why the huge push for counterterrorism "fusion centers", the DHS militarizing of police departments, and so on? It was never really about "the terrorists". It was not even about civil unrest. It was always about this moment, when vast crimes might be uncovered by citizens – it was always, that is to say, meant to be about you.

Wow. I've heard those lyrics hundreds of times but now seeing them written out, they resonate even more. Such simple truth. And so incredible the threat that these 2 men represented to the power structure that the power structure felt the need to kill them. What were they doing that was so threatening? It seems to me that the threat was that they were uniting people and pulling the gauze of propaganda and division from people's eyes. They were telling the truth that we're all in this together.

They can't get to all of us. Of we remain nonviolent and continue this virtuous cycle of awakening, soon there will be so many of us that they won't have a chance to stop us. They'll be like that little man behind the curtain who had been perceived as the great and powerful oz. Once we awaken to our collective strength, the power of fear and division held by the 1% becomes useless. Once the curtain is pulled back, we realize that we've had the power all along. There are 99 of us for every 1 of them. I like those odds.

their threat was non-violent civil disobedience and opening people's eyes to the truth. You are right about that. The power elite cannot combat that. They prefer people to be violent, because then they can use all forms of oppression, like police brutality, to shut them down and the public will be okay with that, or even support the brutality. Personally I think there was more to the "Black Bloc" movement. I think it was created to stop Occupy. Why did Black Bloc try to takeover Occupy? Why didn't they protest on their own at their own locations of choice? When a few Black Bloc assholes started breaking windows, the larger public became okay with the police brutally shutting down Occupy.

The majority of people will not support a violent crackdown on a peaceful organization gaining popularity. But when Black Bloc came in, the tables turned a bit and the news media took hold and showed these groups of 20 people instead of the peaceful that numbered in the thousands.

Even the way they push MLK day is biased toward the power elite. They always play his dream speech, but they never show his speeches on economic inequality or corporate rule. In fact, they never once mentioned those speeches on economic inequality when they taught MLK in my school. King started to move more toward that direction as well. "He tried to give the power to the have-nots. And then came the shot."

You are so right.!!!! In fact, if I remember correctly, King got shot soon after he participated in a garbage workers strike. He was moving more and more towards income inequality. He also got shot just as he was beginning to link the peace movement with the civil rights movement which meant he was bringing black people and white people together under one cause which all related to income inequality in the end. This REALLY PISSES ME OFF AND GIVES ME EVEN MORE RESOLVE AND HOPE AS I WRITE IT BECAUSE it reaffirms the POWER OF NONVIOLENCE, THE THREAT IT PRESENTS TO THE POWERS THAT BE.

By the way, did you know that FBI files released under the freedom of information act show that Coretta Scott King was followed around for 2 years by the FBI to make absolutely certain she did not continue King's effort to link the peace movement with the civil rights movement. Joining the white students and poor kids going to Vietnam and their families TO African Americans and people of all races fighting in the civil rights movement was too big and scary for the 1%.

This REALLT REALLY PISSES ME OFF. I am angry just writing these words because they got away with it. But now we have an opportunity to bring nonviolent force again and right this wrong. The people are rising. And we ain't stopping for nothin. No fucking way.

Occupy was leaderless. That was huge. It was people just joining together. It was great. I really think Black Bloc was created to stop that. I would not be surprised if documents leaked in the future reveal this. They have FBI going through trying to entrap people all the time. It's not far fetched to think they could have had something to do with Black Bloc as they tried to stimulate the "more prone to become violent radicals"

Also I didn't know that about the FBI and Coretta King. Thanks for that info!

UNITY is a threat to the establishment.
We can never forget that King was a radical. He is not the "sanitized, deodorized" King that mainstream America wheels out every MLK day. He was uniting people of all races and colors for economic justice and this represented a major threat to the establishment when he quite intentionally and openly began to work to join the peace movement to the civil rights movement. Vietnam protests by King were in many ways at root about economic justice and civil rights.
King was killed soon after he started making this link of peace movement and civil rights movement. This post shows clearly that King was not killed by a lone gunman.
FBI documents released through the freedom of information act show that King's widow was followed for 2 years after her husband's assassination to make sure she was not linking civil rights movement to peace movement. This again underscores how much of a threat unity is to the establishment.

I believe alec wants an unconstitutional convention. Preparatory amendment assures a convention with constitutional intent. That is what I pursue.

If alec won't render an opinion of what preparatory amendment does to Article V, we know they do not want one. They want something else. Something we do not want. Sign the petition. Let us get accountability or show that it is unreasonably denied.

Now you see the test. It's real and it anchored in constitutional intent which CONTROLS Article V.

Understanding the test makes the practice of sharing constitutional intent have greater and greater meaning, because more and more people will join in appreciation of the effect of the test. Purification.

So, whatever we're going to do, we ought to begin it now. If you feel hopeless, consider this: There is a silent majority out there. Last fall, numerous major news outlets reported that polls showed 40-50% of Americans supported Occupy.

Whatever it is we're going to do, we should begin it now. Goethe explains the power of committing to a goal:

"Until one is committed, there is a hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth - the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manor of unforseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now."

Imagine the idiocy behind the hubris of anyone trying to pull the wool over the eyes of such a small population. Especially one with education and health care. It is no surprise that Iceland did what it did, it is only surprising that it happened peacefully.

It is pretty incredible. A bright spot of hope for humanity. I need to study this a lot more. Amazing. I wonder what it will take to "unpull" the wool from people's eyes here? Is the awakening all person to person in the way we discussed before or are there strategies like nonviolent resistance and nonviolent direct action that can speed up the process? The reason I ask is that the click is ticking. Would you recommend we do both with our full effort?

Most people are aware of the severity of corruption and the degree it has permeated government but, are not actually accustomed to discussing it in public. The more they are encouraged to do so, the more familiar they become doing so,and the more people are made comfortable discussing such previously taboo subjects.

Happy New Year! I pray that this year will be as good as last year was bad! ;D

Yesterday I heard a man at a checkout ask the cashier if she had to work new years eve and she replied, ' Oh yeah, they gotta do something to keep us off the streets' and the man laughed with a great sense of relief. He could now go home and not feel guilty. BUT!! Me being somewhat annoyed at his lack of thoughtfulness and the cashier's ingrained sense of unworthiness, ran over to the cashier and said, ' That's right, we're America, the most hard working people in the world. In fact, we're the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't require employers to provide several weeks of paid vacation in additional to national holidays and paid sick leave for everyone every year". The man looked at me with supreme disgust and hate and the cashier ( bless her heart) asked, ' Is that really true?" I guess getting one out of two to think a little bit is better than none. Some folks choose to be ignorant cuz it's easier than feeling guilty or admitting that they really don't care. Maybe he'll do a little more homework on the topic but probably not since he was older and retired.

Yes and as aloof as any of us can be, I believe that humans generally prefer to be part of majority. I know I do as it's much more pleasant.
In '08 I was witness to one of the most heinous animal cruelty cases I had ever seen. It involved the poisoning of wildlife and domestic animals and I had to contact a former EPA employee for assistance in prosecuting the perp. Anyway, this entire experience just about wiped me out emotionally in that I truly developed such a disdain for humanity that I thought I would never again be the same person and certainly never want to relate to humans ever again. I wanted to give up and become a recluse. The EPA man understood exactly what I was enduring, the frustration with humanity and bureaucracy and the toll it was taking on me. He told me a story about working at the EPA, how miserable he was for years and just went to work each day counting down until he could retire. He hated his job in his final years because everyone he worked with was so disconnected from any ethical purpose in their work. He felt so alone and surrounded by enemies. He recommended a book called, ' How can I Help?" by Ram Dass. It's a very inspirational book for anyone who lives a life in service or activism. Thank goodness he was there for me. I didn't feel so alone, hopeless and powerless after that. I did learn a most important lesson in that experience though. Although that one single experience seemed so absolutely daunting, enormous and unbearable and I never thought I could heal from it, I found healing in continued daily service to less complicated issues like visiting children in the hospital or volunteering to drive or cook for those in need. For those of us who are compelled to live a life in service to others, it's so important to nurture a healthy balance in service with missions that recharge us and not just drain us. What we are dealing with in America seems so huge and hopeless at times too but the way to remain strong and resilient is to complete little acts of kindness throughout our day while we tackle other mammoth issues. When we join together in spirit, action becomes more effortless and less draining.

You remain a shining light Gillian, 'despite that, or because' you have the guts to visit the shades of dark to uncover truth .

I have to give kudos to anyone who takes the time to share 'waking' information to the general public. Sharing on websites with like minded people is great, but its easy in comparison to the courage it takes to speak truth in our communities to people who do not yet have a clue what is going on.

I too have experience with a 'heinous' segment of society that deals with a very dark issue that sometimes make reality and certain people 'unbearable' to look at. Though that dark place is not where I want to visit today...I just wanted to let you know that people like you are humanity's 'boots on the ground' and you are doing profoundly important work that will help the people of this world to 'shift frequency' and become a better humanity to and for all. Kudos & Keep the light on!!

Cool that you passed this on to me and others. Amazing how that one person's one act of kindness one day can benefit so many. Makes you think about the power of kindness.

Sometimes we get these gifts from friends. Sometimes from strangers. And sometimes they seem to come out of the blue for no reason at all from no one. Years ago, when I needed it most, I just happened to be helping someone move boxes of books. They were random books not on any particular subject, stuff people had left behind at a building. I wasn't even in a mood to look through them. I was just sort of slogging along at that point in my life, demoralized, not seeing any possibilities, worn down. One of the books slid out of one of the boxes and onto the ground.

It was the THE LAST BARRIER by Reshad Feild. I opened up and glanced at a few pages and was intrigued - - I almost felt refreshed just from reading just a few paragraphs. On the face of it, it's a story of the journey of an English antique dealer, a story of his travels and an amazing turn his life took -- and it's compelling because it's told from his point of view, one we can all relate to. He's kind of a "regular person". Over the days that followed, I devoured the book. It woke me up. Not that it presented all new information (although a lot was new to me). More importantly, it rang so true and reminded me of things I had already experienced and learned. The book doesn't ask you to believe anything. In fact the author / teacher is a total skeptic. He asks us (and his student) to experience it for ourselves. And it helped me look far beyond my conditioning to realize I had responsibility for and power over my life. I went from feeling trapped to empowered and all sorts of good things came from that recognition. There's a point in the book where the "student" is concerned that no one will hear him, that he is isolated and alone. The "teacher" replied that, "If you send your message on the wind, you never know who will hear."

And to varying degrees, I've been trying to do that ever since. This forum is one of those places, just as the kindness of that EPA fellow was one of those places for you and a book falling on the ground was one of those "places/ moments" for me.

Here's brief summary and link:

THE LAST BARRIER: This classic work by Reshad Feild, one of today's best-known Sufi teachers in the West, tells the compelling story of his journey into an ancient and powerful spiritual path. Starting as a London antique dealer, Feild comes into contact with the enigmatic Hamid, a Sufi teacher who leads him into a world of mystery, knowledge, and limitless love. On his journey, which takes him to the mystical sites of Turkey, Feild is forced to confront his own inner weaknesses and falsehoods. Hamid and the events of his search take him again and again into confrontation with the limits of his own being, enabling him to shed the false conditioning that lies between himself and his true nature. This hard-to-put-down adventure is a travelogue in more ways than one. It tells of Feild's exhilarating explorations into mystical Turkey, a land of whirling dervishes and the tombs of great saints, but also a world that opens into the divine love that lies at the heart of all. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition features a new foreword by Coleman Barks, the foremost modern interpreter of the Sufi poet Rumi, and a new preface by the author.(less).

Oh gosh did I ever have big chuckle at your finding the book story. Isn't it just amazing how the universe responds to our needs when we most need it to? I had an almost identical experience 2 years ago when I had to go to my mother's house ( uggggg) and move some boxes and I absolutely hated being there and all of a sudden, the first book on top was ' Self Reliance' by Emerson. I shouted, ' YES!!!" with delight and held the book to my chest as if I were hugging my long lost child. It was as if the universe was telling me to ignore my mother's demeaning and demoralizing ways and remember that I'm ok because I'm the one in control of my own destiny.
YES!!!
I'll definitely check out the book you mentioned. I know I will enjoy it because it's exactly the type of book I love to read. It sounds to be a lot like Osho..where he presents the extremes in order to find our own natural state of well-being ( before others F'd it up for us..hahahah)

We are all limited by our experiences or lack of. It's truly frightening when you consider how inexperienced and ignorant we all are about so many things in this world and what we would might miss out on by not being in a certain place or having some experience that opens the doors of wisdom for us.
.

I agree. There's a great film out right now that relates exquisitely. It's getting rave reviews. Beasts of the Southern Wild. I loved it. There's a point at which the young girl swims out and climbs aboard an old fishing boat. The captain is friendly and has her sitting up at the helm in the chair next to him. She asks where the boat is going. And he said, "It doesn't matter. This boat is taking you exactly where you need to go."

Here are some other memorable lines just to give you a glimpse into the genius of this film:

Hushpuppy: I see that I am a little piece of a big, big universe, and that makes it right.

Hushpuppy: When it all goes quiet behind my eyes, I see everything that made me flying around in invisible pieces.

Hushpuppy: Everybody loses the thing that made them. The brave men stay and watch it happen. They don't run.

Hushpuppy: Strong animals know when your hearts are weak.

Hushpuppy: The whole universe depends on everything fitting together just right. If one piece busts, even the smallest piece... the whole universe will get busted.

Hushpuppy: They think we're all gonna drown down here. But we ain't going nowhere.

Hushpuppy: The Bathtub has more holidays than the whole rest of the world.

Hushpuppy: Sometimes you can break something so bad, that it can't get put back together.

Wink: My only purpose in life is to teach her how to make it.

Wink: I'm your daddy, and it's my job to take care of you, OK?

Hushpuppy: In a million years, when kids go to school, they gonna know: Once there was a Hushpuppy, and she lived with her daddy in The Bathtub.

I've never heard of this movie! Gee, I need to get out more. I'm still waiting for Life of Pi. That's truly one of the most spiritual books I've ever read. It's so steeped in wisdom but I'm not sure if the movie will be able to convey this as well as the book did.

Wow. That is so well said Gillian. I'll pick up that book. You should do a separate post on this. So important for all of us to hear. It's exactly this kind of thing that will give us heart, strength, wisdom and endurance for the long haul.

I am considered by some in my circle of friends to be the lunatic radical chippy guy. I get on my soap box on a regular basis. I don't care that some think I'm slightly mad. But you'd be surprised at the number of people who actually agree with me, and give me more info that I can look up when I get home.

At no point in our political past in Australia (with the exception of the Joh B era of corruption) have people been as dissatisfied with our politicians in Australia.

You made the man think past his shallow response ( anger he couldn't dismiss a terrible truth with just a display of sad commiserating(?) laughter ). The cashier was stating disgust at the loss of personal time/social time - asked for verification as these are thoughts she is already exploring.

DK,
I really hate to stereotype and I probably should have described the people better but the woman was probably in her late 50's/early 60's and sadly, seemed a bit resigned to her circumstance- probably because a job as a cashier seemed like blessing to her, probably as good as she's ever had it. She was a happy woman and it was pretty obvious that she wasn't cynical like me. She wasn't any intellectual and probably didn't catch the sarcasm in my comment but she did hear the facts at face value. That's ok, my cynicism was meant for the man.
I'm not really comfortable speaking out in public but I certainly will when I have an opportunity and I feel it's important. My ex husband used to run and hide and then scold me horribly when I would speak out against something or for something. It's not because I'm brash or rude. It's just that my ex had the opinion that it's noone of our business. I spoke up one time in a pet store when I saw a woman buying Iams and she asked me what I used. I told her that Iams was one of the worst foods and gave her a few very good reasons- including the animal cruelty involved in their research. My ex was furious!!!!!! WHY DO YOU TELL PEOPLE THOSE THINGS? He was a Peter Pan, always hiding from the painful truth, always hiding the painful truth. Denial is selfish and self-serving and very very harmful to others. Having grown up in a family of Deniers, I have such a distaste for it that I have zero tolerance. Hence, the divorce- the healthier "D". hahahha

BTW - was she really happy(?) or just able to put on a good front? She sounded open to more information from you. People are not always what they seem to be by just looking at them - most all people have unresolved issues - some may continue to work on those issues while others will find ways to shove the issues to the side.

I think she was a simple minded woman who had always lived in the lower to middle class who just found it was better to be happy than to dwell on the miserable things in her life. I can relate to that. I'm sure she has bad days but people cope in different ways and her way was to just make the best of what she had. Sadly though, it's probably out of her realm of thinking that she deserves better and could actually command better. Unless someone opens doors of possibility for us, we often don't even know they exist. This is why education is so important. - it's not the technical things we learn that matter really, it's the exposure to other thoughts, other places, other countries and nationalities, etc..
She didn't have an education in anything except service work.

It is true that many people put on a good front. For what ever their reasoning may be - they keep the true feelings to them-self. Sometimes it is because a person does not want to be a burden ( perhaps shunned ) with what they see. It can then be so freeing when someone else speaks up - showing that they are not alone.

Good for you - it sucks always being the strong individual in a relationship - rather then a complimentary individual making up half of a strong/complimentary couple. Your ex sounds like he had/has personal growth issues. Since when is it a good thing - Not To Talk Openly Honestly With Others? About pet care or anything?

Definitely a case of growth issues. He was a typical southern boy, raised by a patriarchal Christian fundamentalist family ( democrats though) where no one is allowed to express any negative emotion or opinion. He became passive aggressive as a result and very abusive. Not a good thing and certainly was HELL to live with. A lot of kids are raised this way and then become conformists who do not question anything.

If those who are aware, shared awareness with those who are not, awareness will spread exponentially.

Good for you to interject such first world ideology into such second/third world ignorance. In fact I will go one step further and say that the apathetic and snide comments made by that man are more a threat to the world than we often accredit them.

May your New Year be filled with opportunities to share more wonderful information, with many more people.

I agree. Speaking up, however awkward, emboldens the silent majority to speak up too. It's sound so simple and yet it is so powerful. You have awakened me to the enormous impact of listening to others and thereby allowing them to feel what it's like to speak up, helping them feel comfortable doing so. And you've awakened me to the power of setting an example by speaking up, taking the stigma off speaking of what we feel and see....speaking up to say the emperor has no clothes. It can shake the foundations of power if enough are emboldened.

What has become clear is that a silent majority already feels the way we do in their bones. The trick isn't to convince them. It's to do whatever small things we can to make people feel comfortable saying things out loud.

This is powerful and a real nonviolent threat to the power structure, hence the tanks in Tiannamen and the riot police violently evicting peaceful citizens from parks and public spaces. Hence the pepper spray. Hence the massive propaganda.

And the best way to fight this is to do the opposite of rage. We need to be nonviolent but we need to be shrewd, calm and calculating. This can be won. It will be won. I can see it now. I can feel it in my bones.

Your words are exact and to the point. I have always known that change will only happen from the street level, person to person with no experts, no outside influences, no 'somebody else' other than those directly engaged in the discussion.

You have brought the obvious into plain sight so well. The people need no convincing. They already know enough to deduce reality from the facade. It is of the utmost importance to allow the person you are talking with the opportunity to express what it is they already know. They will not forget what came from their own mouth, even if you could have worded it more efficiently than they.

Yes this method requires patience and calculated shrewdness, to say the least, and it is a threat to those who wish to contain information but, communicating personally, is becoming less and less difficult. At one point in the not so distant past anything not on television was nearly conspiracy. That was difficult.

Eventually the emperor will stop walking around naked once there is a mirror available.

And once a critical mass in any group, neighborhood, workplace, community, state or nation has the confidence to speak up, they'll come out into the streets to support nonviolent protests, nonviolent direct actions. That, in turn, raises more awareness and even more support ( in addition to the direct impact of pushing back against the power structure itself). WE HAVE THE POWER (using direct action and web in tandem): http://occupywallst.org/forum/we-dont-see-the-power-we-have-in-our-hands-to-tran/

When the confidence to speak freely becomes the standard, all previous rules need not apply.

Supporting non-violent protest begins with the self, at home and 'Direct Action' can be as simple as 'open discussion' with people one already knows. Awareness is the objective since, it brings change.

We have always had the 'power'. We have been assisted in forgetting that simple fact.

That's a whole new way of looking at it, the revolutionary way. It seems to be a truth hidden in plain sight. Powerful stuff. Thanks for helping us all to realize the power of what you are saying. If you are ever so inclined, I would encourage you to do a post on this on this forum because I've been on here for over a year and have only glimpsed this perspective now and then. I think we could all benefit from such a post that starts at the beginning and awakens us to that powerful reality. You could say it much better than I if you are so inclined some time :)

I thank you for your input, conversation and encouragement. I too, have been reading this forum from inception. I have learned a vast amounts from it and from the people who place information here. It is a hope that the knowledge cultivated here spreads outward leaving positive change its wake. Perhaps a simple post discussing discussions may inspire others.

Right on. It's starting to really click now. "It is of the utmost importance to allow the person you are talking with the opportunity to express what it is they already know. They will not forget what came from their own mouth, even if you could have worded it more efficiently than they."

They will not forget what came out of their own mouth, the words, the meaning and the feeling that accompanied them. The buzz you get from actually speaking the truth is exhilarating, memorable and addictive!

At one point last fall, polls from national news outlets revealed that 40 - 50% of Americans supported Occupy Wall Street. The silent majority is out there. We don't have to convince them of anything. All we need to do is help embolden them to speak the truth out loud, a simple yet revolutionary act. Once some do, others feel more comfortable doing so. It's a virtuous cycle and a beautiful thing to behold. Once that virtuous cycle begins yo take hold, there's no stopping us a nd the rest is all just hard work and details. It will take years and years, but we're going to win this. That's now clear as a bell.